Sympathizers and members of the Party of Socialists (PSRM) on October 27 picketed the head office of the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE). They demanded that the Agency’s administration should annul the electric power and natural gas tariffs adopted earlier and should afterward resign, IPN reports.

The leader of the PSRM Igor Dodon said the protest was the ‘last Chinese warning’. “Next week, on November 2, the deadline by which the new tariffs were suspended expires. This means that in several days the electric power and gas tariffs will grow. The prices of other services will also increase afterward. We came here to warn the administration of the ANRE for the last time,” stated Dodon, noting that the Agency should annul the tariffs, not only suspend them.

Socialist MP Vlad Batrancea said that namely due to the insistence shown earlier by the protesters did the ANRE decide to impose a moratorium on the new tariffs. “They were afraid then and decided to stop the process. They probably thought that it will be cold and the people will give up protesting. However, we will not calm down and will not allow the people to be further impoverished,” he stated, adding that the so-called moratorium should take the form of a definitive decision.

In a communique, the PSRM says that during the protest, the Socialists’ leader, accompanied by several MPs, entered the ANRE to inform the institution’s administration about the demands put forward by the people. When back to the protesters, Igor Dodon said he was assured that the Agency’s meeting will take place in several days and the decision will most probably be to annul the higher tariffs.

On July 18, 2015, the ANRE allowed increasing the power tariffs by about 40% and the gas tariffs by approximately 15%. Afterward, it suspended the higher tariffs until November 1.